By Sarah Kizza Nsigaye
Gen Salim Saleh’s wife Sheila Ebaka Akandwanaho is illegally using State machinery and resources to committee human rights crimes of putting my office under siege, forcefully detaining my daughter Mirembe Serumaga and one staff member Christine Nangobi, as bait to get hold of me and my work without paying or giving me creative credit.
My daughter has been taken by officers reportedly from Uganda Registration Services Bureau (USRB), as a way of forcing me to go to their office.
My daughter and other staffs were attending a Ministry of Gender organised workshop at the National Theatre where our offices are located, when they were called out and forced to open our office.
The Officers claimed they wanted to access my office and take works that I did months ago but they refused to pay for.
The works they want to forcefully take is videos, I filmed for SEA Foundation’s Outreach program between 21st – 23rd July, 2021.
The Executive Director of Uganda National Cultural Centre Mr. Francis Ojede, intervened and I agreed to give them work for the day one that they paid for, but the officers refused. They want all work for three days coverage without paying for the other two days. They also want to use a documentary, that I developed without paying for it, and at the same time remove any credits associating me to the work.
Any creative worker knows that being deprived of creative credit is worse than non-payment for work, Mrs. Shira Ebola Akandwanaho wants to steal my creative right, while at the same time refusing to pay me for services because she can use state apparatus’s.
Disturbingly, her husband Gen. Salim Saleh has spent the better part of this year, assuring artists and creative practitioners of government’s commitment to promote the creative industries by among other things, safe guarding their creative rights.
Through the uncontainable potential of media and digital platforms, I appeal to General Salim Saleh to restrain his wife Sheila Ebaka Akandwanaho from using state resources and machinery to deprive me of my hard earned pay, creative rights, freedom and human dignity as well as the freedom of my daughter and staff member.
I also appeal to the management of Uganda Registration Services Bureau to guide their officers in the Enforcement Department to avoid being used by unprofessional people whose intention is to undermine people’s creative rights, which is the very basis of the entity’s existence.
USRB’s copyright department exists to protect copyright owners not those with power to use the outfit to their end.
This impunity not only defeats governments own programming, it is a deprivation of human and creative rights, which makes me wonder, if institutions exist to serve Ugandans or those in power.
I hope through the media, this matter reaches the relevant authorities particularly USRB management whose outfit is being used as well as General Salim Saleh particularly because, Mrs. Shira Ebak Akandwanaho is taking advantage of being his wife in commanding the officers to put the law in their hands.
Which laws of Uganda, provide that a USRB Officer, forcefully detain someone’s child and staff member, so they can have the mother and boss to the later, report to their office? I am out of town on a shoot and will not be in position to go to USRB today, which I explained and offered to go to their office tomorrow but even if I chose not to go to USRB, under which law, do they forcefully access my offices or have me report to their office?
This impunity that people related to our leaders exercise is going to break the spirit of Ugandans, losing all the gains that had been made in as far as the restoration of peace and human rights observance this government had made.
I will fight for my creative right and right to pay. If Mrs. Shira Ebak Akandwanaho wants to use state apparatus to take it, then she will take it illegally but I will not give up on my creative right or demand for payment.
For myself and other Ugandans who may be victims of such circumstances, I hope the media is able to put out our voice and draw it to the attention of the relevant authorities.
Please find attached background to this whole saga, in a document that I prepared earlier when she first threatened to send police officers to arrest me from my house.
Sarah Kizza Nsigaye is a film maker
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